Olympics 2012: Let's hear it for the moms

As the world’s greatest athletes practice and train to compete in the world’s greatest athletic competition, there’s another group that’s also frantically getting ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

They might not run, swim, dive or kayak, but they’ve still demonstrated an Olympic-size commitment to athletics.

Behind most Olympic heroes is a mom who’s worked tirelessly to help them reach their championship dreams.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to watch Proctor and Gamble’s “Thank You, Mom,” a docu-mercial.

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It makes me cry every single time — and not just because I’m a mother. Even my husband sighed and said, “It’s beautiful, just beautiful.”

The ad begins in the wee hours of the morning in Los Angeles, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro. Four moms wake their little ones, make them breakfast and shuttle them to swimming, gymnastics, track and volleyball. The moms then return home to take care of the house.

We watch the children grow and develop until they reach the Olympics. The mothers travel with them the entire journey, embracing them after they compete.

“Being a mom is the hardest job in the world. But it’s also the best,” the ad’s tagline says.

Sob.

Few of us have children who make it to the Olympics. State championships, maybe. But the big one? Not likely.

Regardless of their skills or talent level, we sit in freezing ice rinks or steamy pools. We drive hours to games and plop our derrieres on hard wooden bleachers. It’s not just the winning, we tell ourselves. It’s the experience.

Two local moms of stellar athletes would readily agree, even though their offspring came tantalizingly close to representing the red, white and blue in London.

View full sizeChris Knight, The Patriot-News/2009Hershey's David Nolan, acknowledges the crowd after his record-breaking swim in the 200-yard IM, during the PIAA class AA Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University March 11, 2009.

Terri Nolan and Jamie Raab have not only seen the “Thank You, Mom,” video, they lived it.

“I lived those mornings when they were just little sleepy heads, and I would try to get them excited to be on deck for a 6 a.m. swim meet,” Terri said.

“That was a great time. It’s been such a great ride. It’s rewarding to see how they have progressed. They decided on their own to make the commitment to pursue this sport. It’s so admirable. How did we find such favor?”

The trio of swimmers competed last month at the Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb. Even though they did not make the team, the moms said their kids felt honored to swim alongside the best in the country.

And they’re all definitely looking forward to trying again in four years.

“There’s nothing we can say to push Katie and David; it’s such a grueling sport at that level,” Terri said.

“They know they have our support and that they don’t have to worry about anything else than the goals they have set for themselves. If everything is OK at home, they can set their goals and move forward. I’m just the chief cook and bottle washer.”

A former Stanford swimmer herself, Jamie said the choice to swim or not has always been Meaghan’s. The 16-year-old was one of the youngest swimmers at the trials.

“I knew what it took to swim long term, so I wanted to make sure she wanted to do it not just because she was good, but because she enjoyed it,” Jamie said.

“I text Meaghan before every meet that no matter what — whether she goes fast or slow — she is loved. She is valuable and precious and special whether she swims or not. If at any point she decides to stop swimming, that doesn’t change her value as a person.”

The P&G ad rings true, she said.

“You have to have that mom with you, supporting you, washing towels, hanging up swimsuits, buying goggles, bringing dinner so you can eat from one event to the next,” Jamie said.

“It was really neat to see swimmers like Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps hugging their moms when they finished. All of us moms were crying.

“I didn’t swim that race, but I invested a lot in that race. Nobody gets to that level by themselves. They can’t.”

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